


You're The One

by the_technicolor_whiscash



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Au first meeting, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship, Quite Literally, a bit of clothes-sharing if you look hard enough, injuries, oh no she's hot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 01:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16776994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_technicolor_whiscash/pseuds/the_technicolor_whiscash
Summary: Rose Tyler feels stuck. Stuck in her dead-end job, stuck living at home with her mother, stuck in the same place all the time. One night, while stargazing, Rose witnesses a big blue box fall from the sky, containing the most miraculous woman she's ever met. And that woman needs her help.





	You're The One

**Author's Note:**

> thats right kids im back on my bullshit  
> ok so this is like an au where the first time they meet is in the doctor's thirteenth regeneration it just made things smoother plotwise and whatever

Rose sat atop her apartment building, gazing at the night sky above her. The stars were especially bright tonight, with the moon nowhere to be found, blanketing the sky in millions of tiny pins of light. Every so often, a shooting star would dash across the inky background, and every time, Rose made the same wish. 

_I wish I could get out of here._

For years, she had been making that wish. And it wasn’t that she hated where she was in life, living with her mum and working for a shop. But she just felt stuck. Like she would be living with her mum and working for a shop until she dropped dead, having made no impact on anything in life. It was as if she were going in circles, unable to break out. 

And that was when she saw it. A shooting star that didn’t disappear. It got brighter and brighter, closer and closer. She watched it, and saw it slam down in a field just beyond the estate. 

So she decided to go after it. She ran down the stairs, nearly tripping on the last one, and booked it as fast as she could towards the field. It probably wasn’t her most brilliant idea, given the time, and the fact that she was wearing her pajamas and slippers, but she just had to find out what had fallen out of the sky. 

It was big. A big, brilliantly blue box, with “Police Public Call Box” written along the top. It seemed slightly familiar, like something she might’ve seen on a street corner before it was taken down. Very retro. But why had it fallen out of the sky? How could it have?

Suddenly, the door began to open, a light emanating from the inside, and out stepped a woman. She had short blonde hair, and a tattered jacket hanging off of her shoulders. “Pardon me,” The woman said, in an accent that sounded like it was from Yorkshire, “But could you tell me where I am?”

Rose felt her mouth go dry. “Uh, London.”

“Earth?”

“Last I checked. Are you alright?”

The woman closed the door of the box, before leaning against it. “Earth. That’s good. We like Earth. As far as my wellbeing goes, that’s another story.” She put a hand to her side, and Rose could clearly see blood seeping through her shirt. 

Rose took a step closer to the woman. “You’re bleeding. We should get you to a hospital.”

“No, no, I’ll be fine. Don’t like hospitals, me. Always thinking that I’m some kind of scientific anomaly, just because they don’t understand what I am.”

Well, that was weird and vague. “What’s your name then?”

“The Doctor.” She cringed, wrapping her hand further around her injury.

“Doctor what?”

“Just the Doctor.” 

Rose saw that she was going to get nowhere with this Doctor woman. “Alright, Doctor who doesn’t like hospitals, you’re still injured.”

“No, I’m fine.” The Doctor immediately contradicted that by moving her hand and crying out in pain.

“Alright, I don’t care who you are, you’re coming with me.” 

“Where?”

“Me mum’s house. We’ve got a first aid kit there. Can you walk?”

“Sort of.” She took a few steps, her legs weakening with each one. Rose quickly stepped in and put one of the Doctor’s arms around her shoulders, and began leading her towards the estate. “I never got your name.”

“Rose Tyler. What the hell were you doing in that box?”

“It’s my ship. I use it to travel throughout space and time.”

Clearly, the Doctor was delusional from blood loss. But she said it with so much conviction. “Sure. Whatever you say.”

“I’m not kidding! Though I can see how it seems a bit absurd at first. But take me as proof of it, I’m an alien!”

“I’m sorry, that’s even more hard to believe.”

“It’s true! I’ve got two hearts! Which is part of the reason why I lost so much blood so quickly. Makes for some very high blood pressure.” She winced. “How much further?”

“Not much. How did you get injured so badly?”

“Well, it’s a rather long story, that ends with a large group of raptors that someone decided to sic on me.”

“Raptors? Like the birds?”

“No, raptors like the dinosaurs. Y’see, Jurassic Park was quite ahead of its time. In the future, all kinds of people are making their own dinosaurs for the hell of it. There are theme parks and petting zoos and what have you, but some of the rich try to use em as guard dogs.”

Even though the story The Doctor was telling was fantastical, Rose wanted to believe her. It was something about her delivery, the conviction with which she talked about these rich person dinosaur guard dogs, that made you believe everything she said. “What were you doing that resulted in getting these dinosaurs after you?”

“So, this one particular rich person had a large storage of dinosaur embryos in their basement. They weren’t just your regular dinosaurs either, they were dinosaurs created to basically take down armies, even entire nations, with. And I couldn’t let that happen. So I went there to destroy them, and was caught in the process.”

They had reached the elevator of Rose’s building. While waiting for the elevator, the Doctor’s weight grew greater on Rose’s shoulders. 

“Ah, blast.” The Doctor muttered. “I’ve lost quite a bit of blood.”

“We still have time to take you to a hospital. I can call an ambulance-”

“I told you, no hospitals. Last time I was admitted to a hospital, I died.”

Rose furrowed her brows. “What?”

“I got better, but it was still quite a process. And then, another time I was in a hospital, it got transported to the moon because these space policemen were trying to find an alien vampire. Really not a great track history with the establishments. They do good, just not for me.”

The elevator opened with a ding, and Rose led the Doctor in. The Doctor was quiet for most of the ride, before quietly saying, “You don’t believe a word I’ve said, do you?”

“I honestly don’t know whether or not to believe it. You’re definitely injured, I know that much.”

“I swear to you, everything I’ve said is true. Listen to my hearts for proof, if you want it.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Rose leaned her head down and pressed her ear to the Doctor’s chest. Just as she had said, two hearts beat within her chest. “You weren’t kidding.” Rose gasped. 

“Told ya I was telling the truth.”

The elevator dinged again, the door opening onto Rose’s floor. Unfortunately, one of Rose’s more nosey neighbors was there, waiting, and came face to face with Rose’s head still pressed against the chest of a woman covered in blood.

Rose quickly pulled herself away and dragged the Doctor out of the elevator. “Gnite, Mrs Nelson.” She muttered awkwardly. 

Mrs Nelson frowned, shaking her head. “Does your mother know you’re taking a woman home?”

“She will soon.” Rose spoke less to Mrs Nelson and more to her own conscience. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea. Maybe taking home a strange woman who seemingly fell out of the sky covered in blood was a bad choice. But she wasn’t turning back now. 

Rose turned to the Doctor. “My mum’s a notoriously heavy sleeper, so I don’t think she’ll notice us coming in. I’ll have to explain everything to her in the morning. But if she asks, you’re not an alien, alright? You’re an old primary school friend visiting.”

“Works for me.”

Rose quietly opened the door to her flat and led the Doctor in. She only turned on the living room light, and left the Doctor on the couch so that she could rummage through her bathroom closet to find the first aid kit. She found it covered in a thin layer of dust on the bottom shelf, but it would have to do. Returning back to the Doctor, she popped the kit open, finding a bunch of band-aids and some gauze. 

“So,” Rose began, “Are you actually a medical doctor, or is that just a title?”

“I’m a bit of a medical doctor, but it is more of a title. Haven’t actually practiced medicine in… well, it’s been a long time.”

“Ok, so, are you comfortable bandaging yourself up, or are you going to need help?”

“As much as I hate to admit it, I may need a bit of help, yes.”

Rose nodded. “Alright. School first aid classes, don’t fail me now.” She put on the rubber gloves from the first aid kit. “I’m telling you right now, I don’t think that shirt is salvageable.”

“I kind of figured that. I’ve got a few more back on my Tardis, I’ll be fine.”

“Tardis?”

“My ship’s technical name. Stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space.” 

“That does sound rather technical, yeah. Are you comfortable with me moving your shirt up?”

“Do what you need to do.”

Rose began gently pulling the Doctor’s shirt from her wound, lifting it so that she could actually see how bad it was. There was a lot of blood, but they didn’t seem particularly deep. “It’s not as bad as it looks, I think. Give me one sec.”

Rose went into her kitchen and retrieved a bowl of water and a towel. “I’ve got to clean it out, so it might sting a bit.”

“I’ve felt worse.” The Doctor said, through gritted teeth. 

“So, I mean, if you don’t mind me asking,” Rose said, while cleaning the wound, “how did you end up dying?”

“It was in San Francisco in the year 1999. I had just stopped by for no reason in particular, think I crashed actually, and I accidentally got caught in a gunfight. They rushed me to the hospital, but since they clearly didn’t understand my alien biology, they decided to attempt some surgery which failed pathetically. Woke up in the morgue the next day with a whole new body and no memory of what happened.”

Rose froze. “What?”

“Oh, right, yeah, you have no idea what I’m talking about. Sometimes I forget that people don’t always know what I’m saying. Anyways, my species - we’re called Time Lords, don’t know if I mentioned that - has this little trick we can do when our bodies are destroyed beyond repair. Fixes em up, but gives us a whole new face, often a new personality.” The Doctor smirked. “I say ‘us’ when really, I’m the only one left. My planet was destroyed.”

Rose felt a wave of pity wash over her. Rose didn’t know the Doctor that well, but she knew that she didn’t deserve what she had gone through. “That’s a shame.”

“Yeah. Anyway, that’s enough blabbering about me. What about you, Rose? That is a lovely name.”

“What d’you mean, what about me?”

“You know. What do you do for a living, what’s your favorite color, what’s your favorite movie, that kind of thing.”

Rose sighed. She never liked talking about herself. And besides, the Doctor’s wound looked clean enough by now, so she started work on the bandaging process. “You don’t want to hear about my life. It’s nothing extraordinary.”

“Every life is extraordinary. Even the mundane ones.”

Well, that was a motivational way of looking at it. “Alright. I work at a clothes shop down the street, I’ve never moved out of my mum’s house, my favorite color is pink, and I would have to think for a lot longer to determine my favorite movie.”

“Which is the first one that comes to your mind?”

“God, I don’t know. Love Actually.”

“That’s a good choice. See? Not so hard.”

“But my life is so boring. You’ve literally been chased by raptors. All I’ve done in the last week is finish season three of the Great British Bake-Off.”

The Doctor’s eyes brightened. “Oh, that was a good season. They’re all good seasons, mind. But the ones with Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood are the best.”

“Definitely. Does your, what’s it called, Tardis get basic cable?”

“I get thousands of channels from across spacetime. And the best Netflix package in history.”

“I wish I had that. We can only afford the basic stuff.”

“I mean, most of it out there is garbage. Does NCIS really need 19 seasons?”

Rose smiled. “Absolutely not.”

“See? Everyone gets it except the people who make the show.” 

With the last bandage applied to the Doctor’s wound, Rose took a step back to observe her handiwork. “Can you move around a bit to see if it stays?”

The Doctor twisted one way, and then the other. “Wonderful job. I guess your school first aid lessons pulled through in the end.”

Rose nodded. “I guess they did.”

A light turned on from behind Rose, and she felt her stomach drop. She would have to explain all of this to her mum.

“Should I even ask what’s happening?” Jackie inquired, stepping into the room. 

“Mum, this is my friend the Doctor, from primary school.”

“Why is she covered in blood?”

Rose pulled an answer out of her ass as best she could. “Minor auto accident. And since she’s scared of hospitals, I told her that I’d bandage her up here.”

The Doctor stood, wobbling just slightly, and held out her hand to Jackie. “Lovely to meet you, Rose’s mum.”

“It’s just Jackie, dear.” Turning to Rose, Jackie began, “Can I speak with you for a moment in the other room?”

“Course, mum. Doctor, you’ll be alright for a minute?”

The Doctor nodded. “I can entertain myself.”

Rose quickly took off her rubber gloves and rinsed off her hands before following her mum into her room.

“Rose. I love you, but why did you bring a random woman I’ve never met before into the house at one AM covered in blood?”

It took a moment for Rose to formulate an answer that didn’t involve the word alien. “Because she was hurt, and needed my help.”

“Tell me. Is she actually a friend from school, or is that a lie?”

Rose sighed. “Yes, that’s a lie.”

“Rose!” Jackie yelled, exasperated, “You can’t just bring a strange person into the house!”

“Shush, mum, she’ll hear you!” Rose replied at a lower volume. “And she doesn’t exactly seem like a serial killer or something, what’s the harm in it?”

“The harm? The harm is-”

Jackie was cut off by the Doctor in the doorway. “I couldn’t help but hear the yelling going on. If you don’t want me being here, I can go.”

Jackie was about to reply, but Rose took the floor first. “You’re going to stay here, because you’re hurt. I trust you’re not going to murder us in our sleep?”

“Cross my hearts.” She said, making the crossing motion. 

Thankfully, Jackie didn’t pick up on the plural. “Fine, but you’ll be gone by six.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Mum, you know you’re not going to be up before nine.”

“Alright, nine then. Capiche?”

“Oh, capiche, 100%. I’ve always thought that was a fun word, capiche.”

Jackie nodded. “Well, I’m going back to bed. Rose, I assume you’ll get her sorted out?”

“Yes, mum.”

“Right. Goodnight, you two.”

“Goodnight, mum.”

“Goodnight, Rose’s mum.”

“It’s Jackie.”

“Goodnight, Jackie.”

Rose led the Doctor back into the living room, before grabbing a sheet set out of the hall closet. “You’ll have to crash on the couch. Sorry about that. I can lend you some pajamas or a new shirt, if you’d like.”

“That might be nice. You’re very nice, Rose Tyler.”

Rose felt a blush rush to her face. “I try my best.”

“And I appreciate it. Not everyone in this world is kind, so you learn to value the people who are.”

Something occurred to her, upon hearing the Doctor speak. “Doctor, how old are you?”

The Doctor began spreading the sheets out on the couch. “Oh, you wouldn’t believe it.”

“I’ve heard a lot of unbelievable things today, I’m sure this one will be nothing worse.”

“I’m over 2000 years old.”

It took all of Rose’s constitution not to drop her jaw. “Oh.”

“Told ya you wouldn’t believe it.”

“I will admit, it is a bit hard to swallow.” Rose scanned the Doctor’s face for any signs of age. By all accounts, she looked no older than 30. In fact, she was rather beautiful. Not that she was focusing on that or anything. 

Oh, no. She could not get a crush on this bizarre woman who just fell out of the sky. This was not happening. She was 2000 years old! And Rose didn’t even know if the Doctor would still be there when she woke up in the morning. 

But damn, if she didn’t have pretty eyes. 

Rose cleared her throat, shaking her thoughts. “Uh, I’ll go and grab you a shirt.”

Rose dashed into her room, grabbed a t shirt that she didn’t care about losing, and handed it to the Doctor. She found it increasingly challenging to make eye contact with her. 

And clearly, the Doctor had noticed. “Rose, if the whole age thing is making you uncomfortable, I can leave.”

“It’s… not that. It’s not that.” Yes, very good job of speaking normally. Rose took a deep breath, evening herself out. “Right. Well, goodnight, Doctor. The light switch is over there, and feel free to take anything you want from the kitchen if you get hungry.”

Without another word, Rose disappeared into her room and flopped into bed. She knew she wouldn’t be getting much sleep. She was far too distracted, with both the concept of a 2000 year old time travelling alien, as well as the concept of said alien being very attractive, and sweet, and patient. 

But she had only known this Doctor for a day. And she still didn’t believe some of the stories she had said. 

That would have to be something Tomorrow Rose addressed. For now, she had to focus on things like getting to sleep. And question what her mother might be thinking right now. And what old Mrs Nelson down the hall might be thinking. 

Yes, she wasn’t going to be getting much sleep tonight. Oh well. 

\------------------

Rose woke up still half asleep. She checked her phone, and discovered only one message from her friend Mickey, bragging that his favorite football team had won. Grunting, she pulled herself out of bed and put on her slippers. Wobbling down the hall into the living room, the first thing she noticed was that the Doctor was gone. 

Rose sighed. “That’s what I get. Save a woman from bleeding out, and she disappears by morning.” She muttered to herself. 

That was when she heard the sound of pans clattering in the kitchen. Rose quickly ran in, and saw the Doctor leaning over the stove, frying up eggs. 

“Oh! Rose, you’re up!” The Doctor said cheerfully. “Blimey, you look tired.”

“I didn’t get much sleep. How long have you been up?”

“I really don’t sleep. Used to, but there are always so many things I need to do, so I end up just sort of forgetting to sleep.”

Admittedly, Rose wasn’t surprised about that. “Right. What’re you making?”

“Just eggs. Though I haven’t made them in a while. Can’t be too hard, though, right?” The Doctor dashed across the room, and presented Rose with a small gift bag. “I made you a little something as a thanks for getting me patched up.”

“Doctor, you didn’t have to do that.” She reached into the bag and pulled out a scarf, clearly hand-knitted. 

“Made it last night. See what you can do when you don’t sleep?”

Rose was slightly concerned about the Doctor’s wellbeing, but nonetheless, it was a delightful gift. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you. You got me out of a real pickle there, and you don’t know how much I appreciate it.”

Setting the scarf down on the table, Rose walked over and leaned against the counter. “So what are you going to do now?”

“Back to travelling, probably, unless something suddenly happens here that requires my attention. That’s how my life goes, most of the time. Travelling from place to place, saving one world after the next.”

“No wonder you don’t have time to sleep.”

The Doctor grinned. “You’ve got a bit of cheek. I like that. You’re a lovely person, Rose Tyler.”

Rose felt herself blushing. “So you’re just going to leave, then.”

“Pretty much.”

“Does that mean I’ll never see you again?”

“Oh, never is a long time. Chances are, we’ll bump into each other again.” Her expression suddenly grew serious. “That is, unless you’d want to come with me.”

“Come with you? Where?”

“Off into time and space. I think Star Trek said it best when they said ‘to boldly go where no man has gone before.’ Though, most of the time, it is places that people have been. Maybe not humans, but other species.” The Doctor bit her lip. “I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

“A bit, yeah. But I’m… I’ve never travelled. I’ve barely gone beyond London! I have a feeling I would fare rather poorly in space.”

“Ah, but that always makes for the best of travels! It makes it ever more thrilling, to jump headfirst into that great unknown.” 

Crossing her arms and sighing, Rose said, “I just don’t know.”

“Well, you’ve got about an hour to think about it, before your mother kicks me out of the house.”

Rose smiled. She knew she would never get another chance like this. Never meet another person like the Doctor. Another alien, but also another person who instantly made her heart race. “Alright, fine. But if my mum kills you for taking me traveling without asking for her permission first, I can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“That’s fantastic.” The Doctor said, beaming. Then, she looked down at the pan of eggs, now burnt beyond recognition. “First thing we should do is get breakfast, since I think I turned the eggs into a primordial goop.”

“Good idea. I know a place just down the street. Just let me throw on some clothes, and we can head out.”

“Very good! I may need to borrow another outfit, due to the rather ruined state of my last one. Sorry for the bother.”

“It’s no bother, Doctor. No bother at all.”

**Author's Note:**

> i know i should be focusing on my college classes but no. its time for pining.


End file.
